Although cellular telephones have become very popular, they are plagued by problems of intermittent connections, which are quite annoying and inconvenient for the users. Intermittent connections can be caused by interference from buildings, hills, and other structures or can be caused when the cellular telephone is located on the edge of the transmission range. Intermittent connections are especially a problem when the user is moving, such as when driving, because the cellular telephone signal may be within range and unobstructed one moment, but shortly thereafter the user may move into a valley, behind a building, or simply move out of range, and the connection can then be lost.
In order to help the user with the problem of intermittent connections, some cellular phones display a signal-strength indicator on a user interface. This allows the user to monitor the indicator in order to determine when the signal strength is sufficient to make a call and also to determine when the signal strength is weakening and is about to be lost. Unfortunately, monitoring the signal-strength indicator is inconvenient, distracting, and cumbersome for the user, and may even be dangerous if the user is driving a moving vehicle.
Without a better way to handle intermittent connections, using a cellular telephone will continue to be inconvenient and frustrating for the user.